Folding lantern.



C. H. STONEBRIDGE.

FOLDING LANTERN.

ATION F L D H I APPLIC I914. 1,15%,571. Patent dse t. 7, 1915.

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onnnnes n. sronnsnme-E, orivnw Yuan, n. Y.

FOLDING LANTERN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. '7, 1915..

Application filed June 11, 1914. Serial No. 844,402.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES H. SToNE- BRIDGE, a citizen of the United States, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Lanterns, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to what are known as folding lanterns and particularly to a lantern of this class described and claimed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 890,193,granted to me June 9, 1908, and the object of this invention is to improvethe'ventilation of the lantern described and claimed in'said patent and to facilitate its use both indoors and outdoors and especially its outdoor use in windy. or rough weather or under all possible conditions, and whereby the use of the lantern will be improved and the length of the life of the candle used therein extended.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are j designated by suitable reference characters portion thereof broken away; Fig.2atransverse vertical section of the bottom portion of the lantern on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 and on an enlarged scale, Fig. 3 a bottom plan view of the lantern as made; Fig. f a partial transverse section through the top portion of the lantern on the line 4t of Fig. 1 and on an enlarged scale; and, Fig. 5 a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the inner part of the top portion of thelantern.

The construction of the lantern, the improvements in which form the basis of this application, is the same in all respects as in the patent referred to, except as hereinafter described, said lantern being so constructed as to be folded compactlytogether when not in use, as shown and described in said patent and being adapted to be opened up into the form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, when in use, and as so constructed 1 said lantern comprises a body portion a which is rectangular. in cross section and the front and opposite side members of which are provided with transparent panels a reinforced on their inner sides by cross bars a the back part of the body being preferably solid and the front, back and sides being connected as in said patent.

In myimprovement the opposite side portions ofthe lantern body are provided at the bottom thereof and on the inner side thereof with transverse air registers, consisting of transverse plates 0 having vertically arranged aperturesfc which are adapted to register. with corresponding apertures in the bottom of the sides of the lantern and the plates 0 are adjustable and provided at their bottom edges with out wardly and upwardly folded lips 0 forming keepers which inclose the bottom edges of the sides of the lantern, and by taking hold of said keepers the inner register plates 0 may be adjusted transversely so as to regulate the amount of air passing inwardly through the apertures c and the register plates 0 are provided with longitudinal slots 0* and pins 0 are passed through the side frame plates and through said slots and are provided at their inner ends with heads a.

The bottom 03 of the lantern is provided with a transverse pan member (Z and with a candle holder 0Z similar to that in the patent referred to, and the pan member d is designed to receive the drip from the candle or candles, and the candle holder 03 is composed of separate parts hinged to a plate 0Z riveted to; the bottom of-the pan member (P, as shown at d. The bottom 03 of the lantern is hinged at 6Z6 and apart of the candle holder is hinged at 03 and the opposite edge of the bottom d is held in its normal position by a spring catch (Z arranged thereover and a stop or similar device d placed thereunder. The bottom d is also provided 011 the opposite sides of the pan member (1 with perforationscl forming air inlets and the bottom of the body of the lantern is provided at its opposite sides, or at the front and back, with downwardly directed portions 6, which support the lantern when placed on the ground or on any other support and permit air to pass thereunder and up through the perforations d.

I referred to,

The top part f of the" lantern is hinged at the back as shown atlfr and onsist o from the burning candle or candles pass,

and in this improvement, I provide shields h-WhlCll are hinged to the opposite sides of the top 9 of the body, of the lantern as shown at [1, and mounted transversely and centrally of the top 9 of the body of the lantern is a yoke a, the sides of which extend laterally as shown at i and are provided with upwardly directed arms 71 which form means for operating the yoke a, and said yoke, in the position shown in Fig. 4, holds the shields h in a raised and operative position, and said yoke imay be turned down into a horizontal position in which event the shields it will lie fiat on the top 9 of the bodyvof the lantern. The top f of the lantern is openat its opposite sides when the parts-are in position for use, as shown in F ig. 1, and the arms i of the yoke z' may be operated by grasping them, or one of them with'the fingers. V

With the construction shown in the patent V the lantern described and claimed therein would operate satisfactorily in mild weather, or when the wind was not blowing, but when the wind was blowing or V in rough weather, it was found that the candle or candles did not receive a suiiicient amount of air from the bottom portion of the lantern, and the wind blowing from the top, portion thereof would interfere with said candle or candles and would sometimes extinguish them, but with this improvement, the shields h prevent the wind from interfering with the operation of the candles'a-nd also prevent their extinguishment, and the additional; means of ventilation through the bottom of the body of the lantern, afforded by the apertures al will supply all the necessary air to facilitate a proper degree of combustion under any conditions of weather, and the amount of air admitted to the bottom portion of the lantern under any conditions may be regulated to an extent by the air register plates 0 at the opposite sides thereof. 7

In Fig. 5, I have shown a modification in connection with the use of the shields h in which I dispense with the yoke 2', and said shields are connected with the top 9 of the body of the lantern by ordinary hinges employing pintle pins j provided at one end with. fingers 7' which rest on the top 9 of the body of'the lantern, and at their other ends with fingers i which bear onthe inner sides of the shields h, and these fingers 7' and 7' form spring members which normally hold the shields It in an open position, and when the separate parts are folded together, the shields h lie flat on the top 9 of the body of the lantern and are held there by the front and back portions 7 and 7 of the top of the lantern, and the shields it are provided in this form of construction and at their outer free corners with inwardly curved members h which prevent them from engaging the parts 7 and f at the top of the lantern and permit said parts to force said shields inwardly, and slide thereover in the operation of folding. The front and back parts f and f of the folding top of the lantern are provided with side flanges 7' which may limit the outward movement of the shield h, or said movement may be limited by the body portions of the parts f and 7 with whichthe corners of the shields 71, come in contact, and in the construction. shown, the corners of the shields h are beveled to correspond with the taper or inclination of the parts f and f* when in their open position.

As hereinbefore stated the object of my improvement is to improve the ventilation of the lantern and render it practical and useful under all conditions both for indoor and outdoor use, and especially in windy or rough weather. -VVhen the lantern is used indoors and resting on a support of any kind the air register plates 0 at the bottom of the opposite sides of the lantern are open and air passes up through the lantern and out at the top thereof and a small amount of air may also be admitted through the bot-' tom of the lantern and the amount of air entering through the side register devices may be regulated as will be readily understood."

In my previous lantern described and claimed in the patent referred to the slightest draft from above will cause the light to flicker and the candle to melt rapidly thus wasting the candle and soiling the lantern, but with the increased ventilation at the bottom of the lantern and means for regulating the same it becomes necessary to provide means to protect the opening in the top of the lantern so as to prevent the too free entry of air thereinto and especially when the lantern is used outdoors and the wind is blowing, and so that there will be a steady upward movement of air through the lantern and this result is accomplished by means of the shields h. With these shields at an angle the draft instead of coming down into the lantern is carried upward and passes out at the opposite sides of the top and by means of the air register devices in the opposite sides of the bottom of the lantern and the shields h at the top thereof, the flow of air through the'lantern may be regulated at all times and especially is this construction desirable When the lantern is used outdoors and in rough or stormy Weather.

In the event of the lantern being used outdoors during a high Wind, it Will not be necessary to have more ventilation at the bottom of the said lantern and the side registers may be partially regulated as may be desired, and the shields it Will prevent the Wind from entering the top of the lantern and interfering With the operation thereof.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A folding lantern of the class described, said lantern being provided in the bottom thereof With air inlets and in the sides of the bottom portion With air registers, the body of the lantern being also provided With a folding top consisting of opposite parts and Within which are passed oppositely arranged side shields adapted to be folded in- Oopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Wardly and horizontally and to be raised in an upright or approximately upright position.

2. A folding lantern of the class described, comprising a rectangular body provided in the bottom With air inlets and in the bottom side portions With air register devices, the top of the body of the lantern being provided with a folding top open at the opposite sides and Within which are oppositely arranged side shields hinged to the body of the lantern and adapted to be folded inwardly and horizontally and to be raised into an upright position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of the subscribing Witnesses this 9th day of June, 1914.

CHARLES H. STONEBRIDGE.

Witnesses:

C. MULREANY, H. E. THOMPSON.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

